I have worked next to a girl that has made work a misery for me. She has called me paranoid, lazy, mean, obsessed, etc., and even had an asst. supervisor talk on her behalf saying, "I am stepping on her toes." I worked for the Sr. Manager and she worked for the Asst. Manager. That changed last year and both of our job titles were demoted to a grade lower. In July, she was moved to work under my manager and I am told I will be working for a lower level manager. Also, when I have complained about her behavior towards me, it has fallen on deaf ears and now my manager and the supervisors I work for call me paranoid. All of this effected me until I went to the doctor for depression. While on leave I wrote emails outlining my complaints. Now the company says I have to give them a list of written complaints. Is this legal? Can I be fired for stating them incorrectly or if the HR manager decides because of my condition that no harrassment exists. I am at a loss as I feel everyone is on her side because she acts as if she is innocent. In the meantime the asst. supervisor is now a supervisor and she is being given increased responsibility to be promoted back to the higher level. I feel this is unfair and my rights have been violated. Also, she has filed complaints against me in HR saying I am keeping her from doing her work. Please help. Do I have any rights and if I put anything in writing, how should I state the facts?

It's probably a good idea to keep a diary of events. You should note persons present, date and time, and details of the event.

If you are feeling harassed, you should make your supervisor aware. Often the protocol for making complaints is outlined in your employee handbook. I'd suggest following those procedures as outlined by your company. You mention emails that you've sent to your boss. Did you retain copies? If yes, this is a good starting point. I'd share these copies with HR as proof that you've previously made complaints. It's not uncommon to have a policy that requires complaints to be made in writing. In fact this is standard practice at most companies. Your letter of complaint should be HONEST and to the point. Your diary will come in handy when completing this letter. You want to be as accurate as possible. From the complaint letters that I've read, most employees tend to run through a chronology of events and at the end explain the significance of each event.

Please keep in mind that all harassment is NOT unlawful.